TMC has written to the Election Commission condemning the remarks made by its special observer for West Bengal Ajay Nayak, who compared the state to Bihar of 10 years ago.

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), reporting the ‘objectionable’ remarks made by West Bengal special observer Ajay Nayak, who earlier in the day said, ‘present condition of Bengal is like it used to be in Bihar 10 years ago’ and ‘everything is not well with democracy in Bengal’.

TMC also mentioned the conflicting views of Nayak, who it claimed said that only a few days ago had said that the polling process in the second phase went very smooth.

In a sharp rebuttal, the TMC said, “It is not understood what happened within less than 48 hours that made him make a remark about Bengal…”

TMC writes to Election Commission of India against Ajay V Nayak, special observer for Bengal in #LokSabhaElections2019 , for his reported comments, ‘present condition of Bengal is like it used to be in Bihar 10 years ago’ & that ‘everything is not well with democracy in Bengal’ pic.twitter.com/pSQEa18oS9— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2019

Earlier in the day, the poll body appointed special observer for West Bengal Ajay Nayak had said, “We have to provide 92% central force coverage in polling booths to get the confidence of voters, this is not good for democracy. What Bihar was 10 years ago, the same situation is prevailing in Bengal right now. The situation can only be changed by political parties and the people of the state.”

Reportedly, Nayak was earlier the Chief Electoral Officer in Bihar. He was appointed as a special observer by the Election Commission earlier this week following complaints by the BJP against the state Chief Election Commissioner.

Meanwhile, investigations are still underway to find Nadia district nodal election officer Arnab Roy, in-charge of EVMs and VVPATs in Ranaghat parliamentary constituency- who went missing on Friday.

Nadia had two parliamentary constituencies – Ranaghat and Krishnanagar – where elections are slated to be held on April 29, in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections. The Ranaghat parliamentary constituency is a Trinamool Congress stronghold.

An FIR has been filed into the case and another officer has also been appointed in Roy’s place. “Arnab Roy, in his 30s, has been missing since the afternoon of April 18. He is still untraceable,” said a senior police officer of Nadia district.